A fully automated process for growing three-dimensional (3D) midbrain-like organoids — a “mini-organ” model of the brain — has opened the door for the simultaneous testing of thousands of new potential Parkinson’s disease treatments. The midbrain, the topmost part of the brainstem, contains approximately 75% of…
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A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a potential treatment of bradykinesia — slowness or difficulty with movement — in people with Parkinson’s disease is expected to soon open in the U.S. Recruitment is expected to go well, and dosing of a first patient…
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Parkinson’s Patients Have Positive Attitudes About Telemedicine During Pandemic, Survey Reveals
Most people with Parkinson’s disease have positive attitudes about telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, a small Japanese study reveals. The study, “Attitudes towards telemedicine of patients with Parkinson’s disease during the COVID‐19 pandemic,” was published in Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience. It was funded by…
A computational model of how Parkinson’s disease evolves over time may help guide physicians in tailoring levodopa doses to a patient’s needs at given disease stages. Levodopa works to ease the slowness or difficulty in moving, known as bradykinesia, experienced by many people with Parkinson’s. But its effectiveness…
The Brain Mind Institute has joined with Idorsia Pharmaceuticals in a three-year effort to discover and develop new therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. “This collaboration combines some of the best skills and know-how from academia and industry with the common objective of finding new small molecules…
A new wearable device could enable monitoring of motor symptoms as well as electrical activity of the brain, heart, and muscles in people with Parkinson’s disease. The device was described in the journal Sensors, in the study “A Multi-Sensor Wearable System for the Quantitative Assessment of…
Parkin protein deficiency — which is associated with early onset Parkinson’s disease — is only detrimental when dopamine-producing neurons undergo a metabolic switch as they mature, a new study reported. Under such conditions, nerve cells lacking in parkin cannot effectively recycle damaged mitochondria (the cells’ powerhouses, or energy sources), significantly…
People with young onset Parkinson’s disease have unique features that should be taken into account when providing care and conducting research, a recent review article highlights. The paper, “Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease: A Modern and Tailored Approach,” was published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s usually…
Two small clinical trials are assessing MRI-guided focused ultrasound as a nonsurgical alternative for targeting the striatum — a brain region involved in voluntary movement control — to better treat Parkinson’s patients and possibly stop disease progression. Both trials, in Spain and Canada, are evaluating the safety and effectiveness of MRI-guided…
The first patients have been dosed in three Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the safety and effectiveness of tavapadon, Cerevel Therapeutics’ lead investigational oral therapy, in people with Parkinson’s disease. The studies, which were paused temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will test tavapadon as a…
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